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Directing tips from insiders

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Frighty_Mcgee

Posted: Thursday, January 03, 2008 12:47:35 PM

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Most people if not everyone knows I want to direct and not much else. I love to tell a story and directing I feel is the ultimate way to express that for me. I'm always on the lookout for more tips and information on directing so I usually ask people I meet about their opinions on that subject whether they have directed or are just familiar with different styles because of movies they've worked on. I met Gunnar Hansen in Kentucky last year and he had some cool things to impart to me about his opinions on it.

His work with Tobe Hooper had the director playing games with the cast to get more "real" reactions from them during the shoot for Texas Chainsaw Massacre. He particularly kept the cast at odds with Gunnar to make him seem more stand-offish so there would be a larger element of fear when working with him. The cast knew nothing about it and were manipulated into different opinions and points of view. This wasn't such a popular thing to the cast once they found out about it, but it seemed to work on screen. Some of them don't feel it did much to help with the acting at all and just created a bad vibe on the set.

At the same time Gunnar said to me that you need to know how to get a performance from someone who isn't giving you what you want. If you have to make someone cry to get them to the point you need them to be on screen then do what you need to do. After all it's the story you want to tell on screen that's important.

I also got the same advice from Tony Moran (Original Michael Myers), you gotta do what you need to to get the performances you want from people. If that means getting someone pissed off or making them cry or whatever then do it if it will help them and they can't deliver on their own.

Personally, I am not a fan of the idea of doing whatever is needed to get a performance, I like to lean on my actors to do what they do because, after all, they are supposed to be actors and know how to act. I'm still working up any kind of nerve to really draw a performance out of someone in a manipulative way like what Hooper did with his cast, but I guess I won't know if I can do it until it comes to that.

Anyone have thoughts on this?

scfilms

Posted: Saturday, February 16, 2008 9:20:24 PM

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Good tips, but bad ones as well.

The one thing I have learned is that all actors are different. Each have their own approaches of getting into character or getting to that point. The same goes with directors. There is no "right" way to direct, nor is there any way to teach someone to direct. Just do what you feel is necessary, and if "leaning on your actors" is your method and you can get them to portray that certain role, by all means go for it.

Something that has helped me is taking acting classes myself. Acting classes help directors get on the other side of the table, and assists them in figuring out their method, and seeing how they want a role portrayed.

I've worked on various local broadcast projects and have seen some bad directors. The one had a method of sitting back and reciting the dialogue over and over as he wanted to actor to mimic him for well over 50 takes (and that was only for a 30 second spot!!!)

Again, just do what you feel is your method, and the actors will follow.

Frighty_Mcgee

Posted: Monday, February 18, 2008 7:16:36 AM

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I think you're saying about the same thing in a more basic way that the guys I spoke to are saying.

Being that I've had 5 years to test things out with different ways of direction including working on other director's sets I'm pretty conscious about the idea that sometimes you need to do things differently with different people (and 5 years by no means makes me any kind of expert, but somethings are "year one" lessons). That becomes a given very quickly, or should at least. I used to be an actor for a good chunk of my school days from elementary school through high school and a little beyond. I too suggest that for people who want to direct better, they should know what it's like to be an actor or at the very least take some acting classes. In fact I wrote an entire article on it, I posted it just below if anyone wants to check it out.

It's still important (especially being someone who's not professional) for new directors to have a "beginner's" mind and to always seek out new ways or alternate ways of doing things. Finding out what professional actors like Gunnar or Tony have experienced or finding out what professional directors have done in the past is really important. Sure you can read books on it, but nothing beats being able to talk to them because you can interactively ask questions about the things they say to help expand or clarify their information.

I think the only bad tip would be to say that someone shouldn't try to educate themselves further and that they should just do it.

Quote:

November 20, 2007 - Tuesday

1:59 AM - Thoughts on Acting and Directing

The only real way to know how to "handle" actors I believe, is to become one. Experience it over and over and observe other actors you work with and also observe the crew you're working with and observe the directors. Take classes on acting to find out what these people are being taught and what they are being told about the process and how to deal with directors and such.

There is a well known guy around town where I'm from (Rick Mason - Acting in Columbus - http://www.actingincolumbus.com) who has a group of classes for actors. Many of the actors I've worked with have taken at least one of his classes. We had him speak at IndieClub a while back and he went through some cool exercises and he had mentioned that he tries to encourage directors to take his classes. I totally agree with this, I mean it's not going to hurt and it just might help.

I was an actor for several years when I was younger. Granted that was stage acting for the most part, but that just means the technique is a bit different. With a movie, you don't have to "over act" to make sure people in the back row hear or see you acting. I know that covers a lot of ground but I think it's a fairly general idea. You don't need to throw your voice as much, you don't need to have grandiose physical motions, etcetera. Of course, depending on the type of actor you're dealing with, it might help to push them to over act to get what you need from them.

Being that I used to be an actor I feel I have a pretty good grasp on their point of view regardless of acting style (i.e. naturalism, method acting). That's not to say that I know everything every actor is going through or how they get to that place where the feel the character they are playing, I don't think that's possible at all. There's just no way to get into someone's head 100% of the way and completely understand where they are coming from and how they are getting to where you want them to be.

Why? It's not about any amount of communication. It's simply because everyone is different and you need to be aware of that and adjust as much as possible respecting the actor and how they tap into that creative energy. Regardless of what some might tell you, even if you're dealing with two epic (Brecht style) actors they are both going to be different enough that they won't be getting to that same place the same way.

This is why I think Mel Gibson is such a great director. He's had years to understand acting and story structure and communication by working with other actors and directors. Now he gets on set and he's well prepared to transmit his visions to the cast and crew.

If you've never had the chance to act and don't feel like going through that experience you still can dive into acting classes or get an acting coach and learn about how they teach actors. Even then, if you don't do that it doesn't mean you can't direct, it doesn't mean you don't get it, it might just come naturally to you. It's totally up to you if you think that would help your directing and you shouldn't let anyone tell you it's a must.

Understanding actors CAN help with directing, but it doesn't guarantee that it WILL help. There is a lot more to directing than knowing how to communicate with actors or how to get them to that place they need to be. You really need to understand story structure and how to visually relay your thoughts to the audience in a way that they get it or at least can interpret something close to what you are saying with each shot. But this gets into a whole lot of other stuff including framing, lighting, composition, color, activity in the shot (such as stuff going on in the background showing life still going on around the actors you're focusing on) and more.

Understanding them might be optional, but I believe it is IMPERATIVE to be able to communicate with actors. I mean if you can't get your ideas across to them in a way that they get what you want then how are you going to tell the story you're trying to tell? I still struggle with this from time to time but it's usually something I can overcome by relying on others who might get what I'm saying. I know that won't always be the case so I try to use every time out to learn more and better how to communicate what I'm looking for (and not just to the actors, but also to those behind the camera).

This is another reason to try to take some acting classes or something along those lines. Getting to experience what's being taught and going through the exercises the acting coach goes through can help get you in touch with better communication skills. You might also get into taking writing classes then since that's pretty much all about communication.

Again, these are just meant to be some helpful thoughts and ideas and the classes I mentioned are just options for people looking for some helpful tools to give them the possibility of greater understanding as a director. I don't believe using these tools is absolutely necessary, but I do think it would be extremely helpful to someone who wants to gain more knowledge and wisdom when it comes to actors and acting.

-J. Michael Lewis

http://blog.myspace.com/index.cfm?fuseaction=blog.view&friendID=40743334&blogID=330281084&Mytoken=41CF2698-17A6-45B9-B56BF13BE2101E87228962

scfilms

Posted: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 8:57:53 PM

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Wow, I totally misspelled "Classes" as "Clarsees." Oops!

And I'll note that my two posts were geared toward directing actors only, and not directing the overall production.

The thing I have with people trying to gain an "education" in directing...You can't teach it, you can't read books on how to direct, because it is the vision. Everyone has a different vision. This is why at film schools, they teach you the business, they give you generic guidelines on every aspect of the production pipeline, but when it comes to directing, there are no classes. The best education for directing is just doing it.

As far as the acting goes, I did it for over 7 years. It helped mold my directing process, and actually streamlined it so I can get the performance from an actor that i want, within my shooting schedule, even quicker. I agree that being able to communicate with actors is key. And if acting yourself assists you in doing so, then that might help the final product succeed. Then again, the field is considered a "Communication" field along with arts and sciences.

Pretty much to bullet point my tips:

-Be personable
-Understand actors
-EXCELLENT communication to cast and other crew members
-Be respectful

Just a few suggestions to get what you want out of your actors.

I'm curious to hear what other directors have to say. I heard Werner Herzog once put a gun to an actor's head to get the performance he wanted. Of course it ended up being a rumor, but has anyone reading these boards gone to extremes similar to that? (Not necessarily holding them up at gunpoint) But extremes to get the cast "there"?

Frighty_Mcgee

Posted: Wednesday, February 20, 2008 10:53:34 PM

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Well, I tend to believe that you can teach directing kind of the way you can teach a child to walk. It's already in them to do so, they just have to get the principals down. Those who directing is not in are like people who can't sing, it's just not in them and they will either figure that out or keep turning out bad movies. The thing is even those bad directors could possibly have the ability to communicate well with actors.

It's also a mistake to ever think you're done learning or that you know how to direct and that's it. I don't believe there is such a thing or if there is that it's not going to happen until you've reached that "been doing it for thirty years" kind of thing. Even then it would depend on what kinds of movies you've worked on and how many. Not to mention the many types of personalities you would have to work with to gain that ultimate experience to say absolutely that you know how to direct.

A more accurate concept would be to say you have the principals of directing down as it is more talking about the framework of knowledge and not the full on wisdom of the position.

I may know how to direct, I've been told enough times that I do it well, I know I'm a visual person and an artist at heart, and I'm still constantly learning. It's why I find it a bit difficult to say definitively that I'm a director, just because I hold the position makes it fact, but a monkey in a space ship doesn't make it an astronaut.

It's important for me to ask these questions for myself and for me to pass what I learn on to others when I meet these actors and directors I've run into over the years. It's not so much that I don't believe in myself because I do completely. It's not that I don't think I'm any good either, because I believe quite the opposite. It's that I want to know more than I do and I want to get thoughts from others who have more experience than myself or thoughts from others that my brain just can't think of on it's own.

The point of my post was to push the idea that there are several methods of directing and some are quite extreme. In most cases when I've talked to celebrity actors they've all explained that as a director you gotta do what you gotta do to get the performance because sometimes communication isn't an option (some people just will never connect), and some actors just are not good enough to deliver what you want on the spot.

Personally at this point in my career I don't think I could do the extreme methods because I am not as mean a person as some think I am. It may just be acting but for a director to act with an actor without the actor's knowledge or understanding makes for a volatile situation that I'm not sure I can handle. I mean for me to yell at an actor until they cry or to play games to make them scared just seems rotten at the core to me. At the same time I know I could do it because I've gone off on people pretty good and my home isn't the quietest in the world when I'm pissed.

So, anyway, I was just passing on what other famous folks have told me when I've posed the questions about directing to them.

I think I've got things pretty under control when it comes to my abilities, and at the same time I know I have a long way to go. Thinking anything else would be foolish and arrogant even of the most seasoned directors.

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